1.
"So, what are you going to do?"
I flicked the holy sword. The crocodile gentleman, who was already sobbing miserably, swallowed a scream upon seeing the tip of my blade, "Hik!"
"What, what do I do? What do you mean?"
"Regardless of the circumstances, you've placed a bid. And you've won it. Now, whether it turns out to be poison or food, we need to determine who has the right to become the constellation of humans. That. You appeared before me because you don't want to lose that faith, don't you?"
"...."
"A duel? One-on-one? A fair and square fight?"
The crocodile gentleman looked at my sword. Gulp. His massive crocodile neck covered in scaly skin bobbed.
"Deal?"
"Wait, wait a moment! I didn't come here to fight you one-on-one. Despite appearances, I am a gentleman."
"Then what did you come here for?"
"Even if I have to surrender, my man, we should at least talk first, shouldn't we? After knowing who we are, then we can decide whether to turn it into poison or food, right?"
I lowered one eyebrow.
"Hmm."
"You might not know because you've blasted through from the 50th floor to here in no time. Eh? Among the constellations dwelling in the upper floors, there's this thing called connections. It's just different in form and degree, similar to where humans live. Similar! After all, didn't [The Ox that Harvests Ruins] collaborate with [The Eye Living in the Labyrinth] to attack you!"
The crocodile gentleman pulled out a handkerchief from his suit pocket and kept wiping his forehead. Though being a crocodile, he shouldn't be sweating.
"In short, you're saying you're scared to fight me?"
"That's not it… Yeah, damn it. Scared! Ah! I'm scared! Are we done now? Where did such a person suddenly pop out from!"
Why are you getting angry at me?
"If possible, let's solve this with words. With words. Eh? Do you know how many divine powers you've consumed by now? Keep eating like that and you'll get indigestion. Young man. The regression of Mutia, the information of Hishmith Kritz, and what was it, all sorts of constellations I can hardly remember…."
"Eating you won't make me more indigested than I already am."
"Of course, that's a damn truth…."
The crocodile shed tears drop by drop.
He was an honest gentleman.
"Ah, but when I look at you, young man, you seem quite transparent. At least, someone who tries to be transparent. You are. Then, shouldn't we first try to resolve this through dialogue, as it's the usual way?"
It was the moment I took on a thoughtful pose.
[The 'Eye Living in the Labyrinth' cautiously speaks to you.]
I looked down at my wrist.
There, coiled up like a wristwatch, was a thread snake.
"Sssss."
The thread snake raised its tiny head high, fretting whether I might hit it. It was quite cute. Though, in reality, it was none other than the notorious villain who turned countless humans into life-sized dolls for display.
[The 'Eye Living in the Labyrinth' says, it might be unnecessary meddling but.]
Why? What is it?
[Everything that crocodile gentleman has said so far, without a single exception, has been a lie, 'The Eye Living in the Labyrinth' secretly tips you off.]
"...."
I slowly shifted my gaze.
In front of me, the crocodile was still wiping his non-sweaty leather skin with a handkerchief.
Both my eyes and the snake's eyes were watching him side by side.
[The 'Eye Living in the Labyrinth' makes a judgment.]
"Of course, I don't expect us to understand each other through conversation from the get-go. Conversation, communication, it's not just about exchanging words. It's a kind of great achievement, isn't it?"
[It's a lie.]
"Perhaps the essence of a conversation is sharing time with each other. Time. Giving time to each other. Talking for 30 minutes now, to someone who has lived 30 years without the other, means nothing. But what about after a year?"
[It's a lie.]
"After starting a conversation, then talking again after a year, 10 years, 20 years, the time between two people overlaps for almost 20 years. Then, a new life continues, comparable to the past 30 years!"
[It's a lie.]
"I don't think I can earn your trust right from the start. However… I wish to be a constellation worth your time, worth getting to know slowly. How about it, Death King."
The crocodile blinked.
"Would you allow me the opportunity to have a conversation with you?"
And the snake blinked as well.
[It's a lie.]
I slowly smiled.
'Interesting.'
I gently stroked the head of the still trembling thread snake with my index finger. The thread snake cried softly as if it would sink into the ground at any moment.
'Even the last statement was a lie. Asking for [the opportunity to have a conversation] was mixed with lies… No need to think about it. Starting from the word [conversation], it's all a lie, isn't it?'
[That's right.]
'He's not asking for an opportunity to talk to me but an opportunity to ensnare me. That's his true intention.'
[That would be the case.]
Literally, crocodile tears?
I smiled at the crocodile gentleman.
"Very well."
I saw the crocodile gentleman's eyes light up.
"Please arrange it. A place for conversation."
2.
It was soon revealed that the 'conversation' the crocodile gentleman spoke of was not a one-on-one conversation.
It was a gathering including constellations whose powers were threatened by me, constellations whose territories overlapped with the domain I would manage, in short, constellations currently in dire straits.
[The 'The Most Crimson Sommelier' has won the auction for the 67th floor manager rights.]
[The 'Eternal Dance of the Twins' has won the auction for the 68th floor manager rights.]
[The 'The Noble with Dry Handprints' has won the auction for the 69th floor manager rights.]
Several constellations were waiting for me, sitting at a long table.
Not just a long table, but excessively long.
The table stretched endlessly, converging towards the vanishing point on both sides. The space arranged for the conversation followed the table, elongating. We could sit facing each other, but that was all; to get to the other side, one would have to use their body, not just words.
"Come sit down! Death King. Welcome!"
The crocodile gentleman greeted me warmly.
"We all wish to have a conversation with you. Despite appearances, everyone here is quite shy, so they only came out because I led the gathering. Haha. People, big or small, are naturally shy."
[It's a lie.]
I already know.
I looked around at the faces introduced by the crocodile gentleman without losing my smile.
"It's an honor to introduce you to the 'Eternal Dance of the Twins'. A very rare pair of twin constellations among the stars."
The twins sitting across the table nodded their heads at the same time, in the exact same moment, at the same angle.
"Nice to meet you." "This is our first encounter."
Even the timing of their speech overlapped.
One had a high pitch while the other had a low pitch, yet they harmoniously created a chord just by speaking ordinarily. The twins were expressionlessly interlocking fingers with each other.
"Isn't it peculiar?"
The crocodile gentleman laughed heartily.
"It's not that each of them is a constellation on their own, but together they form a constellation. Perhaps they're actually one person, just appearing to be two on the outside. Who knows? Now, next is..."
"I am [The Noble with Dry Handprints]. Little one."
A constellation in flamboyant attire spoke up.
The constellation looked at me with eyes full of hatred.
Eyebrows furrowed, forehead wrinkled, and the corners of the mouth twisted grotesquely.
"I expect nothing from you but,"
It probably wasn't just 'me' that was hated.
That expression was aimed at the masses in general. The anger must have solidified at some point and turned into skin.
It was a face that hated something rather than someone, and to the question of what that something was, it could only answer with its own life.
"Only one thing."
The [Noble] glared at me.
"I only hope you understand my circumstances."
"Come on! Come on! Let's save such talks for later!"
The crocodile clapped his hands urgently, his short arms making the applause look clumsy.
"In honor of this meeting being successfully convened! Let's bring out the alcohol!"
With the sound of clapping, boom! The doors of the meeting room opened. From there, butlers dressed in evening wear walked out in a line.
The butlers were carrying bottles of what appeared to be wine.
"Very, very precious wine."
The crocodile smacked his lips.
"As my alias, the [The Most Crimson Sommelier] suggests, I'm quite picky about alcohol. Brewing human emotions into alcohol, that is my blessed power."
However, there was one flaw in the butlers who otherwise appeared perfect – their chests were hollow.
It reminded me of Swiss cheese from a famous mouse cartoon. The butlers had holes right in the middle of their chests.
"The more desperate the heart, the more life's emotions are embedded, the fresher the aroma and the richer the taste when brewed into alcohol."
There was no blood dripping or intestines showing from the hollow spots of the butlers. It was cleanly cut out, just like in cartoons. One of the butlers approached me and tilted the bottle.
"I always wander in search of humans' condensed emotions, their so-called sincerity. So, you might as well call me the constellation of sincerity. What do you think, Death King?"
Drip, drop.
My glass filled up with a red liquid.
"Don't you think we have something in common?"
"...."
"Cheers!"
The crocodile gentleman opened his jaws wide. His short arms couldn't hold a glass for him to drink by himself. The gentleman just opened his mouth, and a butler poured the wine into it for him.
Gulp,
The thick crocodile skin vibrated as the throat gulped. Gulp. Red wine leaked through the teeth, staining the gentleman's neck and white shirt.
"Delicious!"
That single word must be the truth, not a lie.
"Hmph. The smell is foul."
The [Noble] elegantly tilted his glass with a scrunched-up face.
"...." "...."
The [Twins] didn't use a butler to drink, nor did they lift their glasses. They sipped the wine through each other's lips while keeping their fingers interlocked.
Not a single drop of the red wine spilled. The timing of swallowing and the gulping of their throats were perfectly synchronized.
Perhaps the [Twins] even breathe in and out at the same rhythm? The [Twins] weren't so much drinking as they were ensuring they didn't lose hold of each other.
"...." "...."
Not just now, but in everything they do. To them, everything that passes by is merely a white background, and the only thing they always prove, the only fact they seek to demonstrate, is that they haven't lost each other.
So.
"Indeed."
I set down the glass.
The level of red liquid inside the glass hadn't decreased at all.
Slowly, I looked over the constellations seated across the table.
"Indeed, you are similar to me."
The crocodile gentleman in a suit.
The [Most Crimson Sommelier].
One who takes others' hearts, indulging in emotions.
"The more secure my position as a constellation becomes, the more trouble it spells for you, I understand that well."
The noble dressed flamboyantly.
The [Noble with Dry Handprints].
One who feeds on hatred, with anger as his backbone.
"That's why I'm pleased."
The two with interlocked fingers.
The [Eternal Dance of the Twins].
One who needs nothing but your acknowledgment.
"I'm pleased because it's not someone else, but I, who will bring about your downfall."
"...."
The constellations stopped moving.
The [Noble] stared at me quietly with his lips touching the glass. The [Twins], with their lips still pressed together, rolled their eyes simultaneously to look at me.
"Hmm."
The crocodile gentleman slowly closed his jaws. Then, he wiped the wine that had flowed between his teeth with a handkerchief. It wasn't sweat he was wiping off, but alcohol, not his own body heat but the blood of others that he had to clean with that handkerchief.
"Why is that?"
The crocodile looked at me with eyes full of cracks.
"If you were going to be hostile from the start, there was no need to have a conversation. There's no reason to be invited here, to come in like this, and bear the misfortune of facing three constellations at once."
The butlers moved away from the table.
More precisely, they backed away a considerable distance from my spot.
They began to surround me, drawing weapons like knives from within their clothes.
"Why, why show your fangs to us here and now?"
"This meeting wasn't created for talking, was it?"
I poured the wine from my glass. The red light embroidered beneath the chandelier. However, the wine did not spill over the table and overturn onto the crocodile's head.
Splash!
Blocked by an invisible barrier, the wine flowed down. Between where I sat and where they sat. A kind of curtain had been drawn over the table.
"You intended to fight from the beginning. And since you intended to fight, [The Wand of Ages] must have allowed the bidding. Since you were going to fight, you lure me to fight all three of you here."
"Hm."
The crocodile gentleman blinked.
"That's troublesome. This was merely a precaution, a device prepared just in case… Death King, you're misunderstanding."
[It's a lie.]
It was a fact that didn't need to be pointed out.
"However, if that's what you think, it raises even more questions. Knowing it's a lure and a trap, why did you accept my invitation and come here?"
"I wanted to see."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"What kind of measures you had taken, what kind of strategies you had deployed. Above all, what you looked like. If there were talks, what kind of talks would there be. I wanted to leisurely observe it for once."
"So, you've seen. What do you think?"
I gripped the sword.
"There was a reason the Sword Emperor treated constellations like delicacies."
"Please come at me all at once."
The crocodile gentleman's gaze hardened.
"You're underestimating us."
Eyes slit like a cat's locked on me.
"Mutia only formed an alliance with Hishmith Kritz, it wasn't that the two attacked simultaneously. You don't understand what it means to face three constellations at once. You will pay the price for that."
"Unfortunately."
I grasped the hilt of my sword.
"That statement will soon become a lie."
The constellations, all at once, leaped towards me.